Bibi In Congress: One Speech, Two Reactions

For many American Jews, approval and gratitude; for many Israelis, anger and frustration.

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Fiery protest: Vice President Kamala Harris condemned “the despicable acts by unpatriotic protestors” in Washington on Thursday, which included the burning of the American flag, raising the Palestinian flag and burning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in effigy.

On the surface, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s hour-long address to the U.S. Congress, a forceful call for continued cooperation between Washington and Jerusalem in defeating the forces of evil in the Mideast, led by Iran, was a success on many levels. A master orator, the Israeli leader spelled out for all to hear that the current war is “a clash between barbarism and civilization … between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life,” and that Israel was fighting to protect not only its own citizens but America as well.

“If you remember one thing from this speech, remember this,” he said: “Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory.”

For American Jews who have felt frustrated and angered by public protests in the U.S. against Israel’s conduct of the war and by a mainstream media that all too often fails to provide context to the carnage, there was satisfaction in Netanyahu’s emphasis on the commitment of Israel’s army to take extraordinary precautions “to prevent civilian harm” in waging war against a terror group that “does everything in its power to put Palestinians in harm’s way.

“In Israel, every civilian death is a tragedy,” the prime minister asserted. “For Hamas, it’s a strategy. They actually want Palestinian civilians to die so that Israel will be smeared in the international media and be pressured to end the war before it’s won.”

He expressed deep gratitude to America in general, and President Biden and former President Trump in particular, for vital support in this critical conflict; highlighted and praised a rescued hostage and several brave, wounded Israeli soldiers in the gallery; pledged to fight on “until we achieve victory”; and called for the U.S. and Israel to join in a new alliance “to vanquish the tyrants and terrorists who threaten us both.”

All good?

Not, apparently, for the majority of Israelis who have lost trust in Netanyahu during the course of this war. (Recent polls show 70 percent want him to resign.) For them, the speech in Congress should be seen in a larger context than the text itself. Many viewed the prime minister’s visit to America this week as politically motivated, an opportunity to show his fellow countrymen how respected he is in Washington when, they believe, he should be home, urgently working to complete a deal to free the hostages. 

In his speech, the Israeli leader pledged to family members of the hostages: “I will not rest until all their loved ones are home – all of them.” But a number of family members expressed deep disappointment that he did not mention the deal in his talk and has not made the hostage issue sufficiently urgent.

Many Israelis blame Netanyahu for his lack of decision-making on key issues, like whether to prioritize the rescue of the hostages or the utter defeat of Hamas. There is a widespread belief that the prime minister is being held hostage politically by two hard-right members of his coalition, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotritch and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who have given the government a black eye on a global level for their ultranationalist positions, including resisting any attempts to consider a two-state solution. 

As an example of their clout, just last week, on the eve of Netanyahu’s trip to America, the government put forward and overwhelmingly supported a vote to reject the establishment of a Palestinian state at any time. The vote was, 68-9; opposition members of the Knesset left the room before the vote, which seemed intended to undermine the much-discussed potential security pact among the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia and several Gulf states that would include some form of pledge to work toward an eventual Palestinian state.   

In addition, Smotritch and Ben Gvir threaten to leave, and therefore bring down, the coalition if Netanyahu agrees to the cease-fire he himself proposed that would result in freeing the remaining hostages. 

Critics of Netanyahu make the case that he has slow-walked the on-again,off-again hostage negotiations so as to continue the war on Hamas – and remain in power – even as leaders of the IDF and security agencies insist this is a pivotal time to approve a cease-fire. Many believe Netanyhau hopes to continue the war at least until the November presidential election in America, banking on a Trump victory that presumably would take the political pressure off Israel to end the war.

If the prime minister does approve the cease-fire, it will probably come after July 28, when the Knesset goes on vacation until Oct. 27. In that way, he would avoid any attempt to dislodge him for at least three months. (Why the Knesset would go on leave for three months during the most critical period in Israel’s history is another question entirely.)

Do Words Count?

The fact is that Netanyahu’s speech roused an enthusiastic audience in Congress, though according to an Axios headcount about half of House and Senate Democrats did not attend the joint session. The proof of the talk’s effectiveness will be in whether the message results in action. 

Atlantic magazine staff writer Yair Rosenberg makes the case that the press tends to “confuse rhetoric for reality and spectacle for significance.” In a piece entitled “Nothing Netanyahu Says Will Matter,” posted on The Atlantic website prior to the speech, Rosenberg asserted: “Although Netanyahu is very good at delivering portentous pronouncements, his words tend to have few consequences beyond the immediate attention they attract.” He cited as examples a pledge, in 2009, to “complete the task” and “topple the regime of Hamas terror”; the 2015 call in Congress to stop passage of the Obama nuclear deal, which was passed a few months later;  and a major address at Bar-Ilan University in 2009 that seemed to embrace the two-state solution.

Underscoring the transitory nature of political statements, by week’s end attention had already moved to focus on parsing the remarks by Vice President Kamala Harris related to her 40-minute private meeting with Netanyahu.  She offered strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself and named the eight Americans being held hostage by Hamas, but her tone sharpened in stating, "we cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering and I will not be silent," regarding the citizens of Gazan..

Given Harris’s new role as presumptive Democratic candidate for the presidency, observers are already pondering what degree of empathy for innocents is acceptable and to what degree, if any, her policy toward the Mideast will differ from President Biden’s.

Again, the true test for Harris and Netanyahu – and all leaders involved in these issues – will be based, as Rosenberg noted, on reality rather than rhetoric.